Alas Pilipinas landed on a “pretty difficult” pool as the year-long countdown for the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship got off to a rousing start with the Drawing of Lots late Saturday at the Solaire Resort Grand Ballroom.

Italian head coach Angiolino Frigoni said the battle will not be easy after Alas Pilipinas landed on Group A together with 11-time African champion Tunisia, current African titlist Egypt and 2024 Asian championship runner-up Iran.

World No. 1 Poland is in Pool B with Romania, Qatar and The Netherlands, while Volleyball Nations League champion France was grouped in Pool C with Korea, Finland and Argentina.

Pool D is composed of the United States, Colombia, Portugal, and Cuba; Pool E has Chile, Bulgaria, and Germany; Pool F parades Algeria, Belgium, and Ukraine; Pool G will be composed of Libya, Turkey, and Canada; and Pool H will have Brazil, China, Czech Republic and Serbia.

Frigoni, who has massive international experience after coaching Italy in the 1992 Barcelona and 2000 Sydney Olympics, said facing the heavyweights in the prestigious 32-nation event is a big challenge.

“Pretty difficult,” the Italian guru said during the event graced by ranking sports officials headed by Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard “Dickie” Bachmann and the leadership of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation with Local Organizing Committee chairman William Vincent Araneta Marcos and International Volleyball Federation general director Fabio Azevedo.

“It’s a big responsibility and a big challenge.”